


Claws of the Beast

by Spooky66



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, X-Files Cryptid Challenge 2019, casefile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-13 22:43:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19260655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spooky66/pseuds/Spooky66
Summary: Mulder and Scully deal with their relationship as they are called to Texas to investigate a series of slayings.





	Claws of the Beast

Outskirts of Laredo, Texas

The screams pierce the still night demanding attention from the owners of the small home situated in front of the dank river. Hope Bemis listens, worried, from the open window.

“Honey it sounds like a baby.” The middle-aged woman wrings her hands glancing between the dark window and the hallway where her husband is rummaging around for a gun.

“Or it’s those Holt boys up to something.”

“Why do you need a gun against those kids? They’re doing no harm.”

“I’m sick of ‘em hanging around here causing trouble, this’ll scare ‘em away.” Larry Bemis comes out of their bedroom holding an old pistol.

Hope hands him a flashlight before watching him disappear into the small brush covering the riverbank.  
When the wailing stops Hope leans closer to the window and after few seconds of silence she calls her husbands. There is no response.

Taking a knife and a second flashlight, Hope carefully steps out of the house.

“Larry…” She calls for him every step or so and with each step she becomes more troubled. As she gets to the tree line she moves the light around looking for her husband.

Before she has a chance to scream an enormous, clawed, furry hand grips her by the neck. She tries to fight back for a few moments before she is submerged underwater in the grotesque claws of the beast.

And finally the night is once again silent.

Daría Verduzco walks along the riverbed twice a week in the early morning hours to clean up any trash she sees. It’s a ritual that calms her and keeps the neighborhood clean. On this morning the sounds of the water ease her mind and she finds herself humming quietly.

The sound of her scream sends birds flying into the air before she clasps her hands over her mouth in horror.

Lying a few feet before her is the body of a woman, or at least she thinks it’s a woman. The condition of the body makes it difficult to tell.

Missing limbs, shredded flesh, and empty eye sockets make for a bloody and traumatizing scene.  
When asked if Daría knows the woman she stares for a moment before saying, “I think its Hope.” In the quietest of voices.

It isn’t until hours later that they discover the second body.

***

Mulder can’t think of a better way to wake up than to Scully’s bare breasts arching in the air. The delicate cracking of her back makes him smile into the pillow.

It smells like her. He nuzzles his face into the soft fabric.

On mornings like these he likes to pretend that they will go on to spend the day together, maybe go on a date, a walk in the park. He imagines holding her for a while and making her laugh. Maybe then he could make her breakfast or they could go out to brunch.

The trilling of Scully’s phone takes him away from his fantasy and back to reality where he knows that they will go to work and pretend like nothing happened.

“Scully.”

Her voice is raspy. Covertly he watches her curved, ivory back. The notches of her spine arc and Mulder can’t help but reach out a finger and traces them.

She shivers and turns to him with a slight frown. He isn’t listening to the conversation, he doesn’t care what it’s about. It sounds like Skinner and Mulder snakes his finger between her vertebrae causing her back to curve forward in trying to get away from him.

He can’t let it go. Mulder scoots forward and bites at her hip before she squirms away from him.  
Sighing, Mulder flips on his back and listens to the end of the conversation.

“I’ll let him know… Yes sir… You too.”

She turns and fixes him with a malice free glare.

“Mulder…”

In turn, Mulder tries to look as innocent as possible and resists the urge to pull her down beside him, though he can’t resist drawing a small circle on her hip with his finger.

Gently, she takes his hand and moves it away.

“We talked about this.” She looks unhappy but firm when she says it.

Before she can continue Mulder moves away and hauls himself out of bed and into the bathroom without another word.

***

The case was perplexing to begin with. Five people dead in Laredo Texas all killed and found the same way. Each body was found in a series of connected creeks and rivers, they were all missing their eyes along with many nails and teeth.

“Admit it’s strange.” Mulder begins as they look over the photos.

Scully glances at a photo of a river bank that Mulder hands her.

“Explain that.” He points at a hand like indent in the mud near where the body was found. A strange handprint, not human, but human-like. At the end of each finger deep claw marks mar the mud.

“An animal.” She offers with a shrug.

“An animal with an opposable thumb?”

“There are a million explanations before a mythical creature. Do you even know what imaginary thing it could be?”

He shrugs and looks away, “I don’t know… Chupacabra maybe?”

Her sigh is full of regret.

“This is hardly the Chupacabra’s M.O.” She says it so casually as she looks over the papers in front of her and luckily doesn’t notice how much her words have turned him on.

***

Officer Pablo Albidrez is not having a good week.

Two more victims and no leads.

Crime in Laredo is near average for Texas and while they have seen their share of violent crime this was different.

When the first victim washed up they’d thought it was some kind of animal attack. As other bodies began to appear a pattern became clear.

No one was saying the words ‘serial killer’ just yet but Pablo knew they were all thinking it.

The arrival of FBI helped to calm his nerves even as the department worked hard to keep it under wraps.

The two agents seem competent, if a little odd but came highly recommended for a case like this.

He watches them through the large conference room window until Agent Scully begins to walk toward him.

“How can I help you, Agent Scully?”

“I’d like to see the bodies.”

***

Each body had similar mutilations. The nails, hair, and teeth were gone but on many of them, there was some left over each to a different extent, almost random. One body had sizeable claw marks across her stomach; another body’s face was practically gone from what also looks like claw marks. They all seemed to have been disfigured in slightly different ways.

Hearing Mulder come in Scully tells him what she’s learned, “So I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“Uh, good news.”

Scully begins to discard her bloody apron and gloves as she tells him her findings.

“It’s not a serial killer.”

“I’d call that mediocre news. Now hit me with the bad news.”

She sighs deciding how to approach this in a way that will not set Mulder down an irrational path.

“I believe it was some kind of animal.”

Mulder’s eyes widen but he wisely says nothing.

“The claw marks at their deepest are about five inches deep and one inch wide.” 

Mulder exhales, “That’s a pretty big ‘animal’ Scully.”

She rolls her eyes.

“That’s larger than any big cat isn’t it?” He spouts off to indicate that he does know,  
“And on top of that, most big cats don’t live in creeks in Southern Texas-”

“Mulder.” Scully warns. It’s always like this after they have sex. Scully tries to pretend nothing happened while Mulder gets surly.

Scully shrugs, “It’s not uncommon to find Gators in Southern Texas…”

“Do those look like Alligator claw marks to you? Alligators hardly even use their claws; they don’t have much need to with a mouth like that. But you know what does have claws like that?”

“Mulder no.”

“The ancient Aztec Ahuizotl monster.”

Scully’s brows draw together, “Where did you get that from?”

“Just talking to some locals.” Mulder answers the beginnings of a grin on his face.

“They believe that the Ah-zo-tool-“

With a finger in the air, Mulder interrupts, “Pronounced ‘Ah-we-zo-tol’ spelled A H”

“I get it! So the locals believe that it’s this… beast… that’s been killing people.”

“Mumm hum. The Ahuizotl is an Aztec monster known to lure people to water beds where it then strangles,” Mulder points to the purple strangulation marks around the victim’s throat, “and mutilates,” He points to the missing teeth, hair, and fingernails, “it’s victims before leaving them dead in the water. It’s believed that the creature looked like a giant dog with spiky fur and huge teeth. Each paw is closer to a human hand than a paw and, this is the best part, it has a long tail topped by another bigger hand that it uses to grab and strangle its unsuspecting prey.”

Scully rubs away a coming headache before answering.

“Mulder, I think you know what I’m going to say.”

“That it’s a myth? A way that societies of old explained the world around them?”

She nods.

“But what if those societies knew something that we didn’t? Their dedication to their gods exceeded anything we see today. Is it so crazy to think that kind of allegiance can call forth the gods and monsters that they worship?”

“Yes, it is.” Scully’s back is ramrod straight, “These monsters were worshiped?”

“Big time. When someone was killed by the Ahuizotl only the priests who worshiped the deity responsible for watery deaths could get anywhere near the body. So some of the people who still know the stories about the ‘old gods’ are worried that someone has been successful in raising a long-dead monster.”

Biting the inside of her cheek Scully sighs in resignation, “Why would a legendary killer creature suddenly make a reappearance, after hundreds of years away, in Southern Texas?”

“Scully there are thousands of Mexican immigrants here bringing their faith with them. Some of the people I talked to told me there has been a resurgence of the worship of ancient gods. One woman described them as a cult and seemed scared to tell me anymore.”

She raises her eyebrows at him, “What does this cult have to do with the monster?”

“They are the ones bringing it back to life.”

Marla and Edmund Arriaga, the alleged leaders of the cult worshiping Ahuizotl, look like an average couple in their sixties. They both had clean records aside from a couple speeding tickets. The couple was born of Mexican immigrants; both were the first in their families to go to college. They had three children who are all living successful adult lives. The opposites of people who would conjure up the work ‘cultists’.

“Mulder this is outrageous.” Scully crosses her arms and hands back the photo of Mulder’s ‘suspects’.

“Multiple people have told me that Marla is the lead priestess of the group Fiel Tlatoque. Her husband is the ‘enforcer’.”

“Where does this group meet?”

“One man gave me a crude map to a few of their main meeting places. They only meet at night so I say we head out now and check it out.”

“We can’t just barge in and interrupt a religious service.”

“That’s not what I’m suggesting. I just want to suss it out maybe listen in and see if they have anything to say about the recent killings.”

“Wouldn’t these gatherings be in Spanish? Last time I checked yours was pretty rusty.” Scully smirks.

Mulder shoots her a look, “There are people from all ethnicities in the group, I’m sure not all of them speak Spanish.”

Mulder leans forward, invading her space, and grins, “Want to take a nice trip to the forest?”

Scully can’t help the laugh that bubbles up.

“Sure Mulder, lead the way.”

***

The trail was pitch black, lit only by the dim lights in the distance. Distant voices drown out any other noises around them. Scully feels goose bumps rise on her skin with irritation but admits to herself that the scene does seem straight out of a horror movie.

It’s the third location that they’ve searched and to Scully’s surprise, they’ve actually struck gold.

The sounds of the supposed ‘cult’ fill the suddenly hazy air in an ominous way. There are not birds, small animals, or even insects in sight, a fact that Mulder whispers to his partner while they make their way toward the clearing where the group is gathered.

Mulder’s unnamed source claimed that is was the legendary beast that originally called to Marla who then began to share her visions and insights with friends and family. Marla and Edmund Arriaga claimed to be receiving visions from the being and a modest following gathered around them. Not too long after the killings started.

A voice rings out loudly as Mulder and Scully make their way to the clearing. They recognize her from photographs, Marla Arriaga. She is dressed in what they guess is traditional Aztec garb with a few modern touches.

“Brethren. Today we celebrate the gathering of two more souls. Our magnificent savior has released them to a special place in Mictlān where they will rest for eternity with the ancestors and the gods of old. They will accompany the souls of the unwilling on their journey to paradise. Now we call our savior from the depths and give him thanks.”

The declarations rise accompanied by the clapping of hands and stomping of feet. Mulder takes his gun out of its holster and glances at Scully to see her in the same position, they nod at each other.

Abruptly a loud cry rises from the water causing both Mulder and Scully to flinch while the gatherers glow with anticipation.

As the howling grows louder the prayers of the faithful become even sharper. Scully uses her free hand to cover her ears and is initially just annoyed until she sees the beast rise from the water.

Its shrieks turn into growls as the followers bow before it.

The beast’s dreadful face is covered in dark hair with a face somewhere between a dog, an otter, and a possum. Its teeth, yellow and grimy, are barred as it snarls and spits. Each of the creatures five hands appear one at a time until it finally reveals it’s lengthy, terrifying tail capped by a monstrous hand.

Using its fifth hand the beast pulls itself out of the water and onto the land, digging its long talons deep into the earth. It glares at the bowed humans cowering before it.

Scully covers her mouth to stop the scream from rising out of her throat and, on reflex, grabs Mulder’s hand.

Beside her and just as frightened Mulder begins to position himself between Scully and the monster.  
Ahuizotl appears disgusted by the display of weakness from its devotees as it looks for worthy prey. Finally, its eyes look past all of its followers and land on Mulder and Scully. This time Scully is unable to contain the gasp that comes from her as she watches in paralyzed terror. It begins to move toward them, ignoring the worshipful humans surrounding it.

“Scully.” Mulder hisses.

He tries to usher her behind him but she shoves him away as she aims her gun at the monster.

They begin to shoot. The shots light up the night accompanied by the screams of the cult members.

Each shot hits the monster but it doesn’t slow it down and, in fact, it seems to enjoy the show of force.

The monster creeps forward, yellow eyes focused on his prey.

Before either of them can react Ahuizotl’s long tail snaps forward and grabs Mulder in its deadly claws.

“MULDER!” Scully screams and empties her clip. Instead of refilling she just snatches up Mulder’s discarded.

After a moment of preparation Scully throws herself at the beast. She lands hard on its tail and grips the grimy fur for dear life.

Clutching onto its tail she keeps a strong hold on the gun.

“Mulder hold on!”

Ahuizotl’s tail appears to be growing longer as it drags Mulder closer to the rancid water.

“NO!”

Scully struggles up the monster’s tail, covered in algae and other detritus. But she doesn’t have time to be disgusted.

Mulder’s strangled cries drive her forward. The climb seems to take forever and when she hears Mulder’s shouts cut short by a splash of water she screams and scrabbles her way up to the animal’s head.

When she reaches its face she is sure that she’s too late. Tears run down her face as she pictures the tender look on Mulder’s face looking up at her lovingly, his lips kissing her softly, and his hands cupping her face; whipping away her tears.

Her yells match that of the beasts as she empties Mulder’s gun right into its eye.

Ahuizotl wails and tosses its head back, throwing Scully yards away where she lands hard against a tree. The last thing she sees is the monster toppling to the ground and it’s followers frantically running to its aid, sirens in the distance.

***

Mulder wakes up in the hospital feeling gross and tired. Snippets of the attack from the night before fill his mind and he panics. When he doesn’t see Scully at his bedside he’s filled with dread.

“Scully!” His voice croaks out of his throat and doesn’t carry out of the room.

“Shhhh, hey, Mulder,” He feels a soft cool hand on his cheek, “Mulder, you’re okay. I’m right here.”

After a moment his eyes grow less bleary and her face comes into focus.

“Oh god, what happened?”

He tries to reach for the bruises around her eyes but she takes his hand.

“I’m fine.”

His expression turns pained, “Please. Don’t do that, not now.”

She glances down at their intertwined hands, “I’ve got a grade 3 concussion. So I’ve got a bad headache, a sore back, and neck, but I really am okay. Ready to go home even. I’m more worried about you.”

Her fingers brush gently through his hair and he basks in the look of genuine worry and love on her face.

The true openness and affection after an injury always seem to make it almost worth it.

Mulder kisses the palm of her hand and holds it to his lips, “I love you.”

It’s a soft whisper but he sees her eyes grow wide as if she didn’t know.

“Mulder…”

“I want to be with you, not just- no in the way we’ve been doing but actually be with you.”

He can see tears gathering in her eyes but continues on, “We face too many life-threatening situations to not be honest Scully. I want more than just sex,” He pauses and takes a breath, “and I think you do too.”

Then he lets her think. Her fingers still grip his tightly but she won’t look at him. Still, he can see the wheels turning as her beautiful mind works and reworks all of the potential pitfalls against the undeniable benefits.

After a minute he speaks once more, “Take some time if you need it-“

“I don’t.”

A sudden panic works through him and he begins to second-guess himself until she finally looks at him.

There are tear tracks down her cheeks but her eyes are shining, “I think I’d like that.”

Then she leans over him, mindful of the various cords and equipment, and kisses him.

They’ve kissed before but it had always felt like just a prelude to sex. This time it is just a kiss. Well, not really just a kiss. It’s more than that, it’s a promise.


End file.
